Editor's note: This blog originally contained information about the existing PS5 Slim console covers fitting the PS5 Pro that we subsequently learned has not been confirmed by Sony, so we have removed it to avoid any confusion. We apologize for any trouble this has caused and will update this article again if we do get official confirmation that the plates will fit. Our original blog continues as it was below.
Hello and welcome to our rolling coverage of PS5 Pro pre-orders and 30th Anniversary Collection pre-orders as it happened yesterday, September 26.
New hardware launches are one of the most exciting things to cover and experience in gaming, and the PS5 Pro pre-order launch is no different. The team and I kept a close eye on stock levels of 'regular' PS5 Pro pre-orders, as well as the special PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection pre-orders and the 30th Anniversary DualSense pre-orders throughout the day as stock came and went and fluctuated all day.
You can see how it all panned out as it happened below, or use the links above to get the latest on the specific pre-order you're interested in. The most important thing to note is that it is still absolutely worth trying PlayStation Direct US for the regular PS5 Pro, and PS Direct UK for the Pro console too. While the Anniversary gear sold out, the 'regular' PS5 Pro can still be yours - though stock will fluctuate. If you want one, we'd act fast.
Quick links
- PS5 Pro: $699 at PS Direct | £699 at PS Direct
- PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Edition Bundle: $999 at PS Direct (out of stock)
- 30th Anniversary DualSense: $79.99 at PS Direct (out of stock)
- 30th Anniversary PS5 Slim Digital Edition: $499 at PS Direct (out of stock)
- 30th Anniversary DualSense Edge: $219 at PS Direct (out of stock)
- 30th Anniversary PlayStation Portal: $219 at PS Direct (out of stock)
PS5 Pro pre-orders: Consoles
PS5 Pro pre-order: $699 at PlayStation Direct | £699 at PS Direct UK
PS5 Pro stock is now fluctuating in both the US and UK at PlayStation Direct. There are no queues to get in now but it's worth committing if you can add one to your cart.
PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Edition bundle pre-order: $999 at PlayStation Direct
SOLD OUT: The bundle sold out in minutes in the UK and it appears to have now done so in the US.
I've been covering PlayStation hardware and hardware launches for six years now - I feel especially hardened and seasoned by spending months covering the stock shortage that followed its launch. I'm a PlayStation fanatic too and have owned almost every single variant, am deep in the ecosystem, and love everything about the platform so I am very much part of who the PS5 Pro console is aimed at and I'm as excited as the next fan and can't wait to get my hands on my own PS5 Pro soon.
From our estimates, we're now only about 45 minutes or so away from PS5 Pro pre-orders opening fully in the UK at PlayStation Direct - so the first thing we can give you is this PlayStation Direct UK link to get into the virtual waiting room.
As well as giving you the latest on the stock situation of both the new console and the Anniversary collection we'll also be sharing some reminders about what makes the machine exciting and what we're hoping it'll mean for games going forward.
It looks like PlayStation Direct in the UK updated their site early this morning to place folks in a temporary waiting room - it's not quite a live queue though as that has been paused - we think it'll go live again at 10am and that's when you'll be assigned a position in the queue for real and the rolls of the dice begin.
As well as the regular PS5 Pro pre-orders happening today, remember there's the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection pre-orders happening today so you could bag yourself a special edition Pro (if you're lucky as there's only a select number of them) or a wicked cool DualSense with that excellent retro styling.
Remember, if you're not too keen on the eye-watering price of the PS5 Pro or still haven't got your hands on one of Sony's latest consoles, then you should still consider the PS5 Slim. It comes in significantly cheaper than the PS5 Pro, at $499.99 / £479.99, but can play all of the same games. Of course, you sacrifice some overall performance and lose out on the newest features, but that doesn't mean that it's not a great option for most players.
The PS5 Slim also comes with a disc reader out of the box, which is not present on the PS5 Pro and needs to be purchased separately. Unfortunately, there aren't that many amazing PS5 Slim deals right now, but you can see where to secure one below.
PS5 Slim: $499.99 at Best Buy
The PS5 Slim is a great option if you want to avoid the PS5 Pro pre-order madness. Stock is a bit slim right now, but it is currently available in its disc drive model at Best Buy in the US and Amazon in the UK.
UK price: Amazon - £469
UK PS5 Pro Pre-orders should be open now!
OK, it has now turned 10am and pre-orders have been confirmed to be live via PlayStation's social media accounts. Has anyone had any luck yet? If not, keep trying and be patient - it's likely to be a low burn for a while as the queue takes effect...
30th Anniversary DualSense appears on Amazon UK! Then disappears...
We saw the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Dualsense go live at Amazon UK - it actually happened! But then it disappeared in a flash... Did anyone get one?
OK, the queue is moving! We are in the queue and seeing our yellow bar moving down so it looks like the PS5 Pro pre-order train is actually moving! For reference, if you jump into the queue now, your wait time is likely to be over an hour...
PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundle UK price confirmed
We've seen on social media that the UK pricing for the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Bundle has been confirmed at £959.99.
We don't think this is that bad considering what you're getting, including that 200-wuid DualSense Edge...
I'm in!
I have managed to get in past the queue and can browse all the listings including the 'regular' PS5 Pro. The 30th Anniversary Bundle has indeed sold out for now, but the regular console has an orange 'add to cart' button - however, I can't place it in my basket yet. If you're in the same boat, keep trying!
Remember the disc drive and vertical stand
While you wait in the queue or finalise your PS5 Pro pre-order, it's worth remembering that it does not come with a disc drive or vertical stand.
So, if you want to play physical games on PS5 Pro, you'll need to have the PlayStation 5 disc drive handy. The disc drive is sold separately for $79.99 / £99.99, and Sony is already struggling to keep up with demand as it seems to be sold pretty much everywhere.
The vertical stand costs $29.99 / £24.99 and thankfully, stock has been more reliable, and it's currently available at a wide variety of retailers. For a full list of stock options for both of these items, you should check out our guide on where to buy the PS5 Pro disc drive and vertical stand.
Current stock situation - seems to be struggling
OK, sit rep. The main thing is that PS Direct still has PS5 Pro stock available to pre-order right now - I finally got one into my basket as you can see.
In terms of the 30th Anniversary Collection, it looks like the PlayStation Portal is the only item still readily available at PS Direct right now. We can still some orange add-to-cart buttons, but are having mixed results with getting them into carts. The 30th Anniversary PS5 Pro bundle sold out in minutes by the looks of it, too.
The only other retailer that saw some action was Amazon UK with its DualSense listing (the only thing it could have sold due to PS Direct having exclusivity over everything else).
PS5 Vertical Stand and Disc Drive for PS5 in stock at Currys
A user on Twitter / X has advised that the PS5 Vertical Stand and Disc Drive are currently in stock at Currys in the UK. You can find the Vertical Stand for £24.99, while the Disc Drive is available for £99.99. This could be a good way to pick up the PS5 Pro compatible accessories if you're struggling to locate them now that they seem to be firmly out of stock at PS Direct.
The Vertical Stand is a great option if you need to position your console in a vertical orientation. While a stand was included with the launch, that is no longer the case for the PS5 Slim and PS5 Pro making it an essential accessory for some. The Disc Drive is needed if you have a physical game collection, as it's not included with the PS5 Pro out of the box.
The queue is no more in the UK!
It appears as though those shopping from a mobile phone can now enter the PS Direct website directly without the need to queue. We've tested a range of Android and iOS devices and managed to reliably get into the site every time in the last few minutes. There's not a huge amount of stock left at the moment, sadly, but this is still worth noting if you haven't managed to get online yet.
The queue has also vanished over on PC according to our most recent checks, so now is the time to strike if you've been waiting until things died down. Again, there's not a lot of stock left but there are still some things like the limited edition PlayStation Portal left to secure.
Updates from the front line
Things are slowing down a little in the UK, so it is the perfect time to reflect on the day so far. The morning was pretty chaotic, with the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Limited Edition seemingly selling out in a matter minutes. The limited edition PS5 Slim was the next to follow, plus the lovely limited edition DualSense. Even the pricey limited edition DualSense Edge was fully sold out in just a few hours.
The only products that are still holding strong are the limited edition PS Portal and the standard PS5 Pro. If you want to get your hands on either of them, we would suggest acting quickly as there's no saying how long the stock will last. The PS5 Pro is available for £699.99, while the PlayStation Portal 30th Anniversary Limited Edition is priced at £209.99.
Throughout the morning, shoppers have been battling against a lengthy queueing system that has only recently eased up. If you're currently in the US and want to get the best chance at securing your items, we would strong recommend that you head over to the PS Direct site now before the pressure starts ramping up.
Queues open for US shoppers!
If there's anything that we've learned from the UK shopping experience this morning, it's that those who get in early will have the best chance to secure their PS5 Pro or any of the 30th Anniversary products. Queues are now live in US and we recommend jumping in as soon as possible.
There's no official word on when pre-orders will begin, but we suspect that it will be around 10AM. This would match the starting time that we saw in the UK earlier today. We can also predict that products will sell out incredibly quickly, so get your head start now before it's too late.
US pre-order time confirmed
The queue screen on PS Direct gives us our first official confirmation of a pre-order time. It states that "pre-orders for the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection and PS5 Pro will begin at 7AM PDT (10am EDT)". This matches our earlier prediction that the US time would match what we saw in the UK earlier today.
We got to the end of the queue and can confirm that the products are not currently available in the US, so there's no need to rush to the website quite yet. That said, we would still recommend keeping it open in a tab so that you're ready for when that 7AM PDT / 1AM EDT start time rolls around.
Should you upgrade from the PS5 to a PS5 Pro?
Now that pre-orders are nearly here in the US, it's time to start weighing up whether you really want or need a PS5 Pro. Here's what Hardware Editor Rhys Wood had to say:
"The PS5 Pro is very much a luxury item that comes at a high price relative to the standard model. What it's worth to you will all depend on how much you value aspects like increased image quality, AI-powered supersampling, and a chunkier storage capacity.
If you're at the forefront of playing the very best PS5 games - the ones with class-leading visual fidelity like Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, then you will certainly benefit from a PS5 Pro upgrade.
Overall cleaner image quality will make these games look crisper than ever. While in-game graphics themselves won't be affected, this upgrade is all about cleaning up the overall image to an impeccable degree. Plus, that 2TB of storage will also go a ways to helping you store and play even more of these massive games."
The PS5 Pro is now out of stock in the UK
It seems as though the inevitable has happened. The PS5 Pro is now out of stock in the UK. This means that no more pre-orders are available at the moment. There's also no word on whether any new stock will become available throughout the day, but there's definitely no harm in keeping an eye on the PS Direct site if you have the time.
Hardware Writer Dashiell Wood has the following advice for US shoppers: "it's a huge shame that the PS5 Pro is now out of stock in the UK, but I'm honestly quite surprised that it was available for as long as it was. There were a good few hours where it was up for purchase this morning, which is a good sign for what's to come in the US later.
If you're in the US and planning on picking up a PS5 Pro, definitely join the queue now and have you card details ready to fire for 7AM PDT / 1AM EDT!"
Code red: the queue is now paused
Bad news if you were in the queue or browsing the PS Direct site It seems as though users are now bein